Hunters become hunted

SHUT IN: A blind man (Stephen Lang) whose daughter was killed by a motorist stalks a home invader Alex (Dylan Minnette) who is holding his breath to escape the blind man’s attention in ‘Don’t Breathe’, now showing at Rosehill Cinema

IN this thriller, a house in an abandoned neighbourhood is occupied by an army veteran whose daughter was killed by a motorist.

Three young home invaders are casing the joint when they see the man walking down the weed-infested street with a cane.

Alex (Dylan Minnette) is hesitant to steal from someone who is poor and blind. But Money (Daniel Zovatto) says the man’s daughter was run over by a motorist and he received $300 000 in compensation from her rich family.

Money says he wants to get his girlfriend Rocky and her little sister away from their abusive mother and take them to California. Money and Rocky (Jane Levy) beg Alex to do the job although it is risky. So Alex agrees.

The first thing they do when they arrive that night is to throw down bait for the Rottweiler. Then Rocky climbs through a small window upstairs. Once in, she uses a remote to deactivate the alarm and opens the kitchen door.

Money switches on the lights and while the others are taking off their shoes, he goes upstairs to find the blind man asleep in his bed with the eerie sound recording of his daughter playing in the background.

Downstairs, they find a padlocked room. Money shoots the padlock off, and wakes the blind man who appears in his vest with his pectorals bulging.

“Who’s there?” he asks.

Money and Rocky hold their breath. He creeps forward.

“Don’t move or I’ll shoot,” says Money.

The old man raises his hands, but suddenly he has Money by the neck and forces his gun hand back. The gun goes off and Money collapses in a pool of blood.

Horrified, Rocky and Alex are hiding in a walk-in-cupboard when the blind man comes in, uncovers the safe and checks its contents. They hold their breath as he punches in the code.

They have the money and need to get out, but the blind man is walking around. Suddenly, he stops, sniffs. He has found their shoes. Now he knows they are there. He breaks a key in the kitchen door lock and now they are shut in.